Next month, Syfy launches a new show created and produced entirely in someone's basement.

No, I'm not talking about their latest made-for-cable giant bug movie. The show in question is Outer Space Astronauts, which premieres Dec. 8 (following the season finale of reality series Scare Tactics) and is set to air Tuesday nights for a total of five episodes.

Outer Space Astronauts is a live-action/animation mix that, we're told, was completely developed, executed, and edited by executive producer Russell Barrett from his own home, and stars Barrett's friends and childhood buddies. Read more...

MOVIES--Opening this week:

• The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009). Bella has all the luck: not one but two dreamy supernatural hunks are totally into her. The best thing about the first film was the direction, so naturally Catherine Hardwicke was dropped in favor of Chris Weitz--whose most recent credit, the hugely overdirected Golden Compass, does not inspire confidence. Synopsis: When the Cullens decide they are a danger to Bella, she turns to her friend Jacob, who harbors his own secret. Directed by Chris Weitz. Starring Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Christina Jastrzembska (Gran/Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), Anna Kendrick (Jessica), Michael Welch (Mike), Justin Chon (Eric), Christian Serratos (Angela), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Whitlock), Russell Roberts (Mr. Berty), Cam Gigandet (James), Michael Sheen (Aro), Jamie Campbell Bower (Caius), Christopher Heyerdahl (Marcus).
  -- Trailers, clips, and video for The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
  

HOME VIDEO--Out on DVD this week:

• Star Trek (2009). Yes, it literally destroys established continuity, and yes, some of the lower-tier casting is wonky (Simon Pegg?), but I loved this movie. It's not as great as Wrath of Khan, but it stands alongside the best of the Trek films and took a lot of risks to bring us a much-needed new incarnation of a flagging franchise. Synopsis: Starfleet cadet James Kirk encounters an angry Romulan from the future who changes the destinies of the Enterprise and its crew. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Leonard Nimoy (Spock Prime), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Capt. Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Bones), Zoë Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott), John Cho (Lt. Hikaru Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov), Ben Cross (Sarek), Winona Ryder (Amanda Grayson), Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk).
  -- Compare prices on Star Trek.
  -- Trailers, clips, and video for Star Trek.
  -- Movie Review of Star Trek.
• Farscape (1999). A special edition of the fourth season and a box set of the complete series are both coming out this week. Saddled with a lightweight reputation in some quarters because the cast included Jim Henson creatures, this was a powerful, sharply written show with some great characters: Claudia Black's Aeryn Sun and Ben Browder's John Crichton are two of the best-explored figures in sci-fi. (The main problem was continuity lock-out.) If you missed it before, check it out. Synopsis: Astronaut John Crichton, on an experimental space mission, is accidentally hurled across the universe into the midst of an intergalactic conflict. Trapped among alien creatures wielding deadly technology and hunted by a merciless military race, Crichton ends up on an epic odyssey to try to find his way home. Directed by Rowan Woods. Starring Ben Browder (John Crichton), Claudia Black (Officer Aeryn Sun), Anthony Simcoe (Ka D'Argo), Lani John Tupu (Pilot / Capt. Bialar Crais), Jonathan Hardy (Dominar Rygel XVI), Gigi Edgley (Chiana), Wayne Pygram (Scorpius / Harvey), Virginia Hey (Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan), Paul Goddard (Stark).
  -- Compare prices on Farscape.
  -- Trailers, clips, and video for Farscape.

New episodes this week from:

• Heroes,
• The Prisoner,
• V: The Series,
• FlashForward,
• Vampire Diaries,
• Fringe,
• Supernatural,
• Ghost Whisperer,
• Smallville,
• Medium,
• Stargate Universe,
• Sanctuary, and
• Legend of the Seeker.

Guest stars this week include Tom Verica (American Dreams, The 4400) and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Stargate Atlantis) on Medium; Mark Sheppard (Crowley), Samantha Ferris (Ellen), and Alona Tal (Jo) returning on Supernatural.

Synopses below the jump. For details see the listings (regular or alphabetical). Read more...

Previously on Supernatural: Sam and Dean went to a Sam and Dean convention.

Before that: Let's see. Sam was turned into KITT the talking car. Dean huffed up stairs as an old man, having gambled away 25 years of his life to a male witch. Before that, Dean grew hair on his palm (don't ask), and Sam was attacked by Gandhi and Paris Hilton.

Has anyone else been shouting back at the screen, Apocalypse? Hello?

Don't get me wrong, I totally love a goofy Supernatural episode as much as the next guy. But after five goofy episodes in a row, Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) is starting to lose some credibility as a serious threat. It's like, "I want to destroy humanity, but I'm not in a hurry. You guys go and play poker and hunt down James Dean's key-chain." Goofy episodes of Supernatural are supposed to leaven the dark stuff that's going on, not supplant it.

Thankfully we have an "Oh yeah, the world is ending" apocalypse story-line episode this week, with Bobby (Jim Beaver), Ellen (Samantha Ferris), and Jo (Alona Tal) joining Sam, Dean, and Castiel in the hunt for the Colt--that magical gun that the Winchesters think is their only hope of killing Lucifer.

The bad news is, it's the last episode of 2009--the next new episode is Jan. 14, 2010. So after a month and a half of comedy, we return to this season's Big Bad for one episode, with another month and a half of reruns to follow. Supernatural is still one of my favorite shows, but I'm wondering whether they've lost track of how to balance the smirks and the screams.

• Clip 1--Sam and Dean lay a trap to retrieve the Colt, but Crowley (Mark Sheppard) beats them to it.
• Clip 2--Ellen, Jo, and Castiel join Sam and Dean in investigating a seemingly empty town.